Welcome to Medical News Today

Healthline Media, Inc. would like to process and share personal data (e.g., mobile ad id) and data about your use of our site (e.g., content interests) with our third party partners (see a current list) using cookies and similar automatic collection tools in order to a) personalize content and/or offers on our site or other sites, b) communicate with you upon request, and/or c) for additional reasons upon notice and, when applicable, with your consent.

Healthline Media, Inc. is based in and operates this site from the United States. Any data you provide will be primarily stored and processed in the United States, pursuant to the laws of the United States, which may provide lesser privacy protections than European Economic Area countries.

By clicking “accept” below, you acknowledge and grant your consent for these activities unless and until you withdraw your consent using our rights request form. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.

Please accept our privacy terms

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your browsing experience, personalize content and offers, show targeted ads, analyze traffic, and better understand you. We may share your information with third-party partners for marketing purposes. To learn more and make choices about data use, visit our Advertising Policy and Privacy Policy. By clicking “Accept and Continue” below, (1) you consent to these activities unless and until you withdraw your consent using our rights request form, and (2) you consent to allow your data to be transferred, processed, and stored in the United States.

Get the MNT newsletter

Email an article

You have chosen to share the following article:

How elderberries can help you fight the flu

To proceed, simply complete the form below, and a link to the article will be sent by email on your behalf.Note: Please don't include any URLs in your comments, as they will be removed upon submission.

We do not store details you enter into this form. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

Fibre, Whole Grains, Linked To Lower Colorectal Cancer Risk

Following a diet high in fibre, particularly from whole grains and cereals like brown rice and oats, is linked to a lower risk of
colorectal cancer, according to researchers in Britain and The Netherlands who pooled all available published evidence, covering
nearly 2 million people. They write about their findings in a study published online in the BMJ on 10
November.

For every additional 10g of fibre in the diet, there was a 10% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer, said researchers from
Imperial College London, the University of Leeds, and Wageningen University and Research Centre.

Research has already established a clear link between reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and eating fibre and whole grains.
But links between reduced colorectal cancer risk and fibre and whole grains remain somewhat unclear, and studies have shown
inconsistent results, despite the suggestion having been around for the best part of 40 years.

For this study, the researchers analyzed the results of 25 prospective studies involving nearly 2 million participants. To reduce
any bias, they took into account the design and quality of the studies. The type of analysis they performed is known as a "meta-
analysis", which is a way of pooling results from several studies and treating them as if they came from one large study.

They found that although the overall reductions in colorectal cancer risk were not large, there was a clear, gradual and positive
"dose-response" relationship with amount of fibre consumed.

They ranked the participants according to how much daily fibre they ate and found that compared to those with the lowest intake,
each 10g a day increase in total dietary fibre was linked to a 10% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer. There was a similarly
sized link with cereal fibre.

They also looked at whole grains on their own and found that adding three servings (90g a day) of this food in the diet was linked to around
20% reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

Whole grains and cereals are not the only source of fibre in the diet: vegetables and fruit also contain fibre, but the researchers
found no link between fibre intake from these foods and risk of colorectal cancer.

But they said that a previous analysis had shown a link between eating large amounts of fruit and vegetables and reduced
colorectal cancer risk, suggesting something other than fibre might be responsible for such an effect in these foods.

Since eating more dietary fibre and whole grains is also likely to reduce people's risk of cardiovascular disease, developing type 2
diabetes, becoming overweight and obese, and possibly also, early death, there are numerous health benefits to doing so, said the
researchers. One way to do this is to replace foods made with refined grains with those made with whole grains.

The researchers conclude that:

"... our meta-analysis suggests that a high intake of dietary fibre, particularly from cereal and whole grains, is associated with a
reduced risk of colorectal cancer."

They suggest further studies be done to examine links between different types of dietary fibre and specific sites of cancer in the
rectum and colon, for people with varying lifestyles and diets.

They also recommend researchers report more details when they publish studies in this area so that they can be included in future
pooled analyses.

In an accompanying editorial, Professor Anne Tjønneland from the Danish Cancer Society, writes that while this analysis adds to
the growing evidence on the many health effects of whole grains, we still need to find out what the underlying biological
mechanisms might be. She also recommends more studies to investigate the barriers to increasing our dietary intake of whole
grains.

2019 Healthline Media UK Ltd. All rights reserved. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.